Lubrication



April 16, 1940.. BUUR v 2,197,247

LUBRICATION l Filed June 3, 1935 4f? 5f 44 4,5 5256 b5! 550w I 'En 46a, 47e/ T 166 V ma f V L a J 515 a 67 65 ya .53a 0! la 60 INVENTOR valves.

Patented Apr. 1e, 1940 UNITED STATES Locales'non Joseph Bijur, deceased,

late of New York, N. Y.',v.

by George Bijur, executor, `lfew York, N. Y.,

assigner Ato Auto Research Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application June s, 1935-, lserial No. 24,651

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to remote control lubrication and is concerned primarily with systems and installations and the constituent elements thereof for lubricating one or `more bear- 5 ings on a machine or group of machines from a readily accessible point or points 'of control.

The invention has its preferred application to the lubrication of the bearings o f industrial machineryl and also of the bearings on the chassis 1g of a motor vehicle, such as an automobile ory a motor trucln The invention from one aspect is concerned with thattype of lubricating system in which the outlet controls in advance of the variousbearings 15 are measuring valves actuated concurrently by pressure transmitted through oil-filled connecting piping, from a single centralized point of control. Y n v It may be noted that in a system of the gen- 90 eral type mentioned, if dirt should lodge at one of the valves in such manner as to prevent complete closing of the supply line from atmosphere therebeycnd and'if the pipe line also has .communication With atmosphere elsewhere either g5 at the pump, or due to looseness at another tting or junction in the line, there is a tendency for the pipe line and even for the entire contents of a supply reservoir mounted at high levelfto become drained. It is among the objects of the invention to i provide a system or installation of thetype' mentioned, which shall reliably deliver predetermined charges of oil ateach outletwhenever operated at the central source,-Without dependingA on any specialprecautions in such operation, and whichl shall not be subject toderangement by the entry cfv dirt or chips in the pipe.

- To accomplishfthis result, there is interposed in advance ofthe seats of the various measuring Valve units, appropriate strainers, preferably each embodied With the measuring valve and serving. to intercept lscale or -chips carried with. the oil and of mechanical strength sulcient to endure the pressure thereon `in the operation of the measuring valves. The lstrainer is suinciently dense to intercept solid particles, but not so dense as to greatly augment the pressure at the pump 'required to operate the measuring A manually 'and/or automatically actuated central pump and reservoir unit may be provided to feed the'measuring valve units. A filter may be provided at the pump to intercept any particles inthe oil and thereby avoid the likelihood of 55 clogging the-strainers at the measuring valves.

(c1. 'isi- 7) A check valvevat the outlet-might prevent draining of thefreservoir, but on the other hand, might yseriously interfere with the operation of the system, particularly Where the closing of ya pump voutlet check valve after the end of .the pmnprpressure strokewould prevent' release of the pressure on thepipe line, so-that the valve plungers would not return promptly under the pressure of their springs, but Would remainl at their outlets. v l v It is amongA the further `V`objects of theinvention, therefore,v to provide a system of the type mentioned'in which While the reservoir is adequately :guarded against draining, even though i1 `located'at high level, the line yWill not become 1,5. pressurebcund, `though `measuring valves ofthe typelast mentionedare employed.

This result is accomplished with the preferred measuring valves having air bell measuring compartments, by the jsimple expedient of providing an `outlet seat of Very small area forv the measuring valve plungenfso that, after the plunger has beenkentrained to the outlet seat by the initial rush of oil the operation of the pump and the rate of flovv of oil into theimeasuring valve has decreased as the air= bell becomes partly charged, the effective cil v`pressure tending to maintain: the plunger against thev outlet seat is sorloW as to be overcome by the pressure of the valve plunger vreturn spring. 'Iheplunger thereaiterffloats between its inlet and outlet seats dur` ing therest ofthe pump stroke and is springurged to the `inletseatvvhen now vthrough the supply line ceases. y

According to one embodiment of thevpresent invention,` .the pump may be provided with a dischargepressure bell .(notshown) adjacent thereto', preferably.embodied in a unitary'structure y'therewith and in..vvhich the oil discharge or a substantial 'part of 'the oil charge ejected by the n pumpis temporarily stored, either lagainst"'the compressive resistance of air .o'rf of a` springpressedplun'ger', the pressure bell ,thereuponexl erting pressure automatically sustained until the chargel has been propelled through the'` pipe line p and suchpressure may' endure,especi allyif the lubricantis highly viscous-or `if high resistance drip plug outlets are usedI in'parallelto the measuring valve units, for a considerable-interval after the manual eorthas ceased.

In the accompanying drawing in which vare showna ,number of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammaticwview of an automobiley chassis provided with the lubricating installation of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale of one embodiment of measuring valve unit, and

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary views of two modied forms of measuring valve units of the general structural type of that shown in Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, in Fig. 1 there is shown diagrammatically the general layout of.

the chassis of an automobile having a lubricant supply unit S, illustratively on the dashboard. The distributing system includes headers c and d, which communicate at their ends with the respective mains m extending the length of the channel frames and feeding various bearings at or near which the metering terminals t are applied. Bridging conduits (not shown) are provided leading to similar metering devices (not shown) at or near the corresponding bearings on the axle or other unsprung parts.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a preferred embodiment of measuring valve unit, illustratively a dupleX unit. Y

The unit comprises a forging or casting 3l having an inlet nipple 32 which is supplied by the inlet pipe 33. The pipe ispreferably secured in position in the nipple by an appropriate compression coupling which, in this embodiment, illustratively comprises a wedging sleeve 34 of relatively hard metal encircling the inner end of the pipe and a gland nut 35 threaded into the nipple encircling the pipe and pressing against the corresponding taperedend of the compression sleeve to force the opposite tapered end thereof against a reaction collar 36, The reaction collar preferably has an inturned flange 3T supported by a seat 38 in the unit and serving as a stop for the extreme end of the pipe 3.3.

The collar 36 serves, moreover, to press against seat 38', the rim of a disk strainer. The strainer preferably comprises a disk 3S of felt having a backing 4D of fine wire mesh, which latter serves as a reinforcement and 'also to prevent the release of hairs from the felt, which might otherwise ybe carried into the valve chamber.

The valve forging has barrels 4l extending from opposite ends thereof, each having a beveled valve seat 42 at the end of a corresponding bore 43 of smaller diameter, said bores branching from a well 44 into which the lubricant passes from the strainer 39.

`Each of the barrels 4| is provided with a lateral nipple 45 closed by a plug 4S threaded there into and hollow as at 4T to afford an air cavity orreservoir. Each of the barrels is closed at its delivery end by a screw plug 48 threaded thereinto and affording a beveled valve seat 49. Means is provided which controls the ilow of lubricant from the pipe to the reservoir bell 41 and from the reservoir bell to the bearing, comprising a double-ended plunger 50 urged by a coil compression spring 5| thereabout, which reacts against the inner end of the plug 48 to seat the. tapered end 52 thereof against valve seat 42.

In the preferred embodiment, the shank 53 of the` valve is of diameter Vmateriallyl smaller than the head 52 and has a tapered end 54 of still smaller diameter, to coact with the beveled seat 4S in the plug 48 and afford a seating surface thereat of very small area.

Preferably the stroke of the valve plunger is in theorder of but a few thousandths of an inch.

, The plug 48 has asuitable compressible gasket 55 interposed therebetween and thebarrel end,

`inlet seat as shown in'Fig,2.

by which its axial position, and, accordingly, the length of stroke can be delicately adjusted.

Preferably the valve head 52 has a short cylindrical portion 56 extending with small clearance in the corresponding cylindrical portion 5l' of the chamber and adjacent said cylindrical portion, there is preferably press-fitted a ring 5B about the shank 53, which affords but small clearance with respect to the wall of the main length of barrel.

In use, it will be understood that the entire pipe line will normally be filled up to the various valve seats 42 at the various units. In operation, the pressure discharge of the pump is transmitted throughout the pipe line and applied at the various valves, the plungers 50 of which are propelled with the` initial rush of oil through their short stroke to unseat at their inlets and to cause the small tapered ends 54 thereof, to seat at the outlets 49. This action takes place positively and promptly, especially as the valve 53 has but minute clearance at its inlet end and the annular area of the disk 58 is interposed in the path of liquid flow.

TheV seated plunger prevents escape of lubricant therebeyond, and, accordingly, the air bell 4'! becomes charged as oil is admitted to the measuring valve unit, in the continued applicationv of pressure at the pump.

As the pressure in the bell rises, the rate of oil flow past' the valve plunger becomes less and the pressure urging the plunger '53v against its seat 49 is substantially only the hydrostatic seating pressure in the pipe line exerted upon the small effective area .of seat 49. This follows be cause of the fact that all of the surfaces of the reciprocatory valve 5U, as shown in Fig. 2, have the same pressure applied thereto with the exception of the portion of the conical end 54 which is in Contact with the seat 49.

Spring 5l overcomes this relatively small pressure and the plunger, accordingly, 'floats between its inlet and its outlet seats during the continued application of pressure at the pump, affording a restricted outlet through a restrictedl crevice of The outlet port 49` being highly restricted during this operation,l offers a resistance to oil flow high compared to that of the length of Apipe line and of the strainer and, accordingly, there will be no disproportionately great emission at beai ings near the pump. After the pump plunger has reached the end of its stroke and it has completed its discharge, its outlet valve reseats, the iiow of oil through the pipe line' ceases and the spring. 5l then returns the valve plunger to its Thereafter the air in bell 4l expands and ejects the lubricant to the bearing past the now open outlet seat.

Although not preferred, ,it is also possible that the valve reciprocate continuously during the pressure application by proper control of the size and shape of the parts of the valve 50. In this lcase the operation is as follows:

As the pressure increases in the air bell 41 with discharge from the pump S, it approaches -minus the force on the right side yof the ring 58 plus the force acting on that conical end 54 of the valve 50 which is not pressed against the seat 49. As the pressure on'each side of the ring 58 becomes about the same, this total force apparently is less than that of the spring and the spring 5| thus unseats the valve from the seat 49. i

After the valve is unseated still more force is exerted'to urge the valve 50 to the left, as oil under pressure in the chamber 41 is then acting also on the tip of the vconical valve portion 54, which was not receiving pressure when closed against the seat 49. Thus the spring 5|- will close valve 52 until the airunder pressure in `il discharges sufficient lubricant to lower the pressure on the lubricant in the chambers 41 and 4I acting to urge the valve 50 to the left, to a point where the oil from the conduit 43 again will move thevalve 5|) from the seat 5l and against the seat 49. Thus thevalve 50 may reciprocate back and forth as long 4as the pump S is applying pressure. However, generally, the valve will float-after the chamber` 4'! has been charged with a crevice of a few thousandths of an inch between the cone 54 andthe seat 49 affording 'a high restriction passage to the bearings.

It will be understood that if the effective seating area of .outlet 49 were solarge that the total hydrostatic pressure thereon in operation exceeded the pressure of the pump discharge, the system would become pressure-bound for a con siderable` period and in such case venting or re'- lief of the pressure on the-line is preferably effected at' the pump, or some other special vent` ing or relief means are provided, such as forexample, one or more ldrip plug outlets tothe bearings or returnpassageways to the reservoir. W'hile only clean oil is admitted to` the line by reason of the interposition of the filter (not shown) at the pump, anyscale entrained by the oil in the pipes or any chips. admitted to the pipes in the process of applying the various fit# tings thereto would be intercepted by the strain er disks 39, so that the lodging of any such solid particles at the seats and the resultant impairment of valve plunger operation is precluded.

In the construction described, the operation would, nevertheless, be reliable even should one or more of the measuring valve plungers fail to move throughV the entire .stroke during pump discharge and to effectively close the beveled outlet seat 49.

By reason of the minutestroke of said plunger, in the order of but a few thousandths of an inch, should such valve only crack oif its seat 42 upon the application of pressure, ythere would `beprovided between the tapered end 54 and the corresponding beveled seat 49 an annular port, butv minute in effective area, as heretofore described, and said port would impose a resistance to flow, so high under the pressure transmitted from the source that lubricant would pass therethrough but slowly. v g

Accordingly. in such operation, a relatively small predetermined quantity of lubricant would pass directly from the pressure source past outlet 49 tothe bearing, the rest entering the bell 41 and compressing the air therein, as in normal operation. Substantially only the measured quantity would pass to the bearing supplied from such valve, part directly during pressure application and the remainder after the foot has been removed from the plunger and the. air bell has begun to eject. v

'The mode 'of operation last described might occur if, for instance, a particle of dirt became lodged at the outletr seat 49, which might 'take' place if strainer 39 were omitted. Thus,'with prevent the plungers or some of them from seating normally at their inlet heads 52.

It is preferred, however, to use the specific arrangement shown and described including the strainers by the use of which the limitations as to relative'levels of measuring valves, level of reservoir, etc. are removed. v

In Fig. 3 there is sh'own an embodiment of measuring unit which includes a high resistance outlet port yfunctioning throughout the operation of each unit.

In the drawing, similar parts bear the same reference numerals as in Figs. 1 and 2 with eX- ponent a however. f l

The outlet closure plug 48a inl this case is seated in substantially Xed position, an ordisv nary gasket Gil being used instead of the special gasket shown in Fig. 2. An integral tubular extension 6l is provided on the plug 48a. of internal diameter but afew thousandths of an inch larger than the shank 53a of the bullet-shaped valve plunger a considerable portion of the length of which at all times extends into said tubular extension. A

The main length of the valve plunger is preferably cylindrical and provides rio valve at its outlet end and the tapered end l52a thereof is normally pressed against the beveled seat 42a at the inlet endl by a coil springfiiia reacting against theshoulder 62 inthe plug. yPreferably the spring 5m is of strength such that in normal application of pressure at the pump, the valve plunger 53a will vcrack but slightly off its seat.

'Ihe lubricant that enters the valve chamber 4la will' divide, some passing under the applied pressure into the bell 41a, to compress the air therein and some being forced through the high resistance minute cylindrical crevice 63 between the shank53a and tubular extension El, to pass directly to the bearing. During the discharge of the pump, as the air in the bell 41a becomes compressed and the resistance of said bell to the entry of more oil increases, the proportion of lubricant forced through the restricted outlet 63 increases. n

Thus, it will be seen that with the use of fittings as shown in Fig. 3, whether all of the ttings on the line are of that type or whether restricted` outlet of the valve is independentv of the plunger. .K

yIn the fragmentary embodiment shownV in thel drawing, similar parts aredesignated by4 the same reference numerals as in Fig. 2 with exexpone'nt b, however. In this construction, the valve may be generally similar to that shown in Fig. 3, and the outlet plug 48h has a minute longitudinal drip bore 65, for instance, one made with a #80 drill, and of .0135 inch diameter, and. of length suicient to interpose a high resistance to ow. As an additional safeguard, to avoid the possibility of such minute drip bore becoming clogged with a particle of dirt or a chip, it is preferred to provide in advance thereof in a socket 66, a felt strainer plug 6'! which as in other embodiments, may be backed with a disk 68 of ne mesh metal screen.

The spring |b in Fig. 4 (like the spring 5m of Fig. 3) may be strong enough to keep the piston 53h from closing against the port 66.

It is to be understood, cf course, that the measuring valves of the present application may be utilized in systems in parallel with measuring 'valves of other constructions, such as are shown in application Serial No. 596,856, iiled October 25, 1922 (Patent 2,017,848); at the end of a progressive system, such as shown in application Serial No. 728,719, filed June 2, 1934; in parallel with drip plug restrictions such as shown in application Serial No. 580,668, now Patent No. 1,975,920 and also in Patents Nos. 1,632,772, 1,734,026 and 1,734,027; said drip plugs being employed either to feed a bearing and/or to provide a return feed to the reservoir, whereby pressure may be relieved in the lines to assure more prompt return of the measuring valves and/or to prevent pressure locking of the line.

The present application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 9,544, iiled February 16, 1925, now Patent No. 2,003,281 and Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of this application correspond to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of saidprior application.

Although the lubricating installation of the present invention is particularly described in an application to chassis lubricating systems, it is apparent that itmay be broadly utilized for the lubrication of other machinery.

By the expression drip plug as utilized in the specication and accompanying claim is meant a high restriction metering fitting having a narrow crevice through which oil passes to the bearings, the restricting effect of the crevice being tremendously higher than the restricting effect of the piping and bearings, so that it will predominantly control the proportionment of lubricant among the bearings. These drip plugs, if desired, may also be provided with inlet strainers and check valves, either spring seated or flow seated.

It is to be understood that many alternative and varying constructions may be made pursuant to the broad aspects of the present invention, as above pointed out, and it is intended to cover and include all such alternatives and variations as come within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A centralized lubricating system comprising a source of lubricant pressure, a pressure-transmitting piping system supplied therefrom, measuring Valve units at' the various outlets thereof leading to bearings, each of said units having an inlet, an outlet and a storage chamber, a double-ended valve controlling communication with respect to said chamber and having a minute stroke of the order of a few thousandths of an inch between said inlet and said outlet and normally spring-pressed toward said inlet, said valve piece including a disk substantially iilling the corresponding bore, for rapid plunger operation through its minute stroke upon application of pressure at the source, in order to seal the outlet, and a strainer in advance of said valve intercepting any scale or chip entrained with the lubricant, in order to prevent possible interference with the operation of the` valve by lodging of a solid particle in the path of movement thereof.

GEORGE BJUR.

Executor of the Estate of Joseph Bz'jur, Deceased. 

